In which African country are the native people of Indonesian descent?

• A. Tanzania
• B. Madagascar
• C. Kenya
• D. Mozambique

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that language and ancestry show where a population came from. Malagasy, the native language of Madagascar’s people, is Austronesian—closely related to Indonesian and Malay languages. That linguistic link points to ancestors who sailed from Southeast Asia to Madagascar across the Indian Ocean many centuries ago. Genetic and archaeological evidence supports this story, showing a foundation of Southeast Asian ancestry mixed with African groups, which is unique on the African continent. So, Madagascar is the country where the indigenous population has Indonesian roots. The other options are mainland African countries where the indigenous populations originate primarily from African populations, not from Indonesian settlers.